The Bennetts Suzuki team returns to action in the MCE British Superbike championship this weekend at Knockhill, following a successful visit to the Isle of Man that saw the new GSX-R1000 take victory in the Senior TT.
Superbike riders Sylvain Guintoli and Taylor Mackenzie are confident of making more progress and improving their results at round four of the series, following the ongoing development of the new Suzuki. Guintoli has spent the break from British Superbike duty by deputising for the injured Alex Rins in MotoGP aboard the GSX-RR, as well as further refining his own riding technique, while Mackenzie underwent arm-pump surgery to help his performances in the second half of the season.
Fellow teammate Richard Cooper heads into the weekend looking to extend his lead at the top of the National Superstock 1000 championship, where he holds a slender one-point lead.

Sylvain Guintoli, "The last few weeks have been good, and it was a great experience to work with the Suzuki Grand Prix team. A lot has changed since I last rode a Grand Prix bike and it took some dialling in again, but I enjoyed it a lot and we had some results I was happy with. But I'm now looking forward to getting back to British Superbikes and continuing our work with the new GSX-R. The team has been very busy since the last round with the road racing, but the guys have been continuing development of the bike, and I'm looking forward to getting back on it. I've also been working on my own riding technique and I actually borrowed Taylor's RM-Z250 - he couldn't use it for a bit because of the surgery - to work on rear brake control and controlling slides better. It might only be a 250 but it had some power. I've never been to Knockhill, so tomorrow will be a learning day for me. Hopefully the weather is kind and I can get up to speed quickly and we can have a good weekend."

Taylor Mackenzie, "We should be in a good place this weekend. I've done more laps around Knockhill than anywhere else really, it's my favourite track of the year. In the break I've had surgery to help with arm-pump. If you look back at Oulton our pace was pretty good but I get to half-race distance and I start to really struggle. I rode some motocross recently - after getting my bike back from Sylvain - and I had no issues, so this should really help. Bike-wise, the team has done a lot of work and made big steps with setup, mostly the rear suspension setup and our corner entry. I'm also learning about the electronics more and more - having had limited time on a Superbike - so we should see some big improvements, hopefully starting this weekend."

Richard Cooper, "I'm looking forward to getting back out this weekend. I rode the bike at Mallory Park on Friday, just to spend some time on the big Suzuki again, rather than an out-and-out test, but in the break the team have been working hard. I've spent some time in the workshop, too, and we've got some things to try on Friday, and I think the team learned a lot more about the bike at the TT as well. We've got two long races this weekend, which is good, I'm looking forward to having two goes at it. Hopefully the changes we make will take us in a good direction and we can have a strong weekend and extend our championship lead."

Steve Hicken, team manager, "It's good to be getting back to the British Championship this weekend. We had a difficult TT, going there with a new bike, but we learned a lot and ended strongly with the win everyone wants in the Senior, and also the fastest lap of the week. But now it's back to the short circuits and there aren't many shorter than Knockhill. We've learned even more about the bike since Oulton, and made progress with its development, both in Superbike-spec and we also have some bits to try with the Superstock bike, too. It's a new circuit for Sylvain, so we'll have a bit of work to do with him to get him comfortable, but we're hoping Taylor and Richard can hit the ground running and we should have a good weekend."

Report and images courtesy of Hawk Racing.